Summary of EVSE options

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Scowbay

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2011
Messages
12
Is anybody willing to create a summary of EVSE solutions on the market with some brief summary of pros and cons of each? A bit of work, but I have a feeling it would be MUCH appreciated by expectant Leaf owners like myself (December.)

I've spent a lot of time trying to do the research on the forum, but the more I read the more confused I become. I'd like something my own electrician could install - even if he's not "certified" by the vendor.
 
want data?
buy the blink and have it self-installed if you cant get into EVProject.

otherwise get AV.

As an alternative, you can go with Ingineer's upgrade of your EVSE from Nissan, but you will need a dedicated 40 amp 240 volt line.
 
Scowbay said:
Is anybody willing to create a summary of EVSE solutions on the market with some brief summary of pros and cons of each? A bit of work, but I have a feeling it would be MUCH appreciated by expectant Leaf owners like myself (December.)

I've spent a lot of time trying to do the research on the forum, but the more I read the more confused I become. I'd like something my own electrician could install - even if he's not "certified" by the vendor.


Or you can just look at what has already been done at:
http://www.pluginrecharge.com/p/evse-vendors.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's a reasonable place to start the search and then look at the many comments on this forum.
 
Thanks - the list is what I was looking for.

I'm curious whether there is any evolving consensus on best over all option. Seems like lots of problems with Blink. It's not clear how to purchase AV directly without their install (no response to my web inquiry.)
 
thankyouOB said:
want data?
buy the blink and have it self-installed if you cant get into EVProject.

otherwise get AV.

As an alternative, you can go with Ingineer's upgrade of your EVSE from Nissan, but you will need a dedicated 40 amp 240 volt line.
One small correction: the EVSE Upgrade requires a 20 amp 240 volt line. If one has the electric panel in a garage, it is an easy DIY project.
 
Upgrade the OEM unit for about $332.

Good: low price, portable, easy to make adapters to fit different plugs, only requires 20 amp circuit(full 16a charging). Level 1, 240v upgrade only needs 15a circuit(12a charging). Truly universal charging that works on both 120v and 240v.
Bad: Must sent it in so no charging a couple days(mine took 8), could be an issue at end of lease but I think they will exchange for an original at no cost. Does not lend itself that good for permanent mount although some do and are happy.
http://evseupgrade.com/?2

AV
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=614
Full service and warranty with installation services. Very reliable. Has holster.
Somewhat expensive especially the install. Available on ebay for self install or your own electrician.
Seems bulky and protrudes a bit more than needed from the wall.
Requires 40 amp circuit. Rated for outdoor use.
Standard is 18' cord but 25' cord seems to be available on request.
Look for this one on ebay for about $625 May have sold out at this time (Jan/2012)

SPX $950 + shipping
https://homecharging.spx.com/portal/Display.aspx?id=11&menu=8
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1442
Portable and does have a mounting system but no cord hook. Adjustable to be usable on 15, 20, 30 & 40 amp circuits. Pigtail can be swapped to match the outlet you have. Adapters can be made for adapting to different plugs on the road.
Some report issues with not charging when Leaf timer is used. Appears to be when only end time is set Leaf does not charge.
Rated for outdoor use.

Leviton 160
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ProductDetail.jsp?partnumber=EVB22-3PM&section=37741&minisite=10251
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=822
Available at Home Depot for $999. Available elsewhere ~$900 shipped, no tax.
http://www.garrett-smarthome.com/search.php?pg=1&stext=leviton+160&sprice=&stype=&scat=
Mounting kit probably not needed unless you will be moving this item frequently. Mounting plate is included.
Only requires 20 amp circuit. Limited to 16 amp to vehicle which will charge current leaf at full speed. Future Leaf or other cars may accept more power in the future. It will still charge all just fine just at the 16 amp rate.
Semi portable with plug in pigtail. Wall plate mount would allow easy removal to a different location. Rated for outdoor use.
Seems a bit of an industrial look with the blue metal box. But fairly compact and low profile. Mounting plate has cord hook but no holster.
Some say mounting plate not needed, just bolt it to the wall. Mount plate may add portability.

Leviton Evr-Green 320
List is $1,495 for 25' cord and $1,395 for an 18' cord. Only NEMA 6-50 plug in available. No J-plug holster.
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=37741&minisite=10251

Schneider $799 shipped from Home Depot. Ordered mine today (9/23) HD says back ordered but they are now allowing the purchase.
http://products.schneider-electric....ons/indoor-electric-vehicle-charging-station/
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...gId=-1&keyword=electric+vehicle&storeId=10051
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2630
Designed for hardwire only. Although it would seem you could put a cord on it. (I did)
Indoor use only. Although there is an outdoor unit available for more money as part of the commercial applications.
Requires 40 amp circuit. 18' cord. Best looking, low profile. Cord hook looks basic and no holster. Cord hook is painted steel and very strong.
Works with ALL Leaf timer settings. Has delay timer and length of charging indicator. Schneider delay works with Leaf timers.

GE Wattstation
http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/Dis...pnlid=8&famid=9404&catid=6061&id=WS-WallMount
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=770
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Should be available soon at Lowes.com. Rumor is a couple stores have a few on display. Price $1,000 when found in store.
Looks like $999 shipped from Home Depot.com $750 + shipping from http://store.ontility.com/products/ev-charging-stations.htm
Available in different colors. Seems bulky large and more profile at 6" deep. Very nice looking if you have the wall space.
Requires 40 amp circuit, has a nice holster. Outdoor rated. Cord is just 16'
Has an OFF mode to draw zero power when not in use
HomeDepot states "limited lifetime warranty" :) As of 6-25-2012 a few reports of damage to the Leaf charger (diode?) and hearsay is the Nissan is working with GE for fix.

Siemens Versicharge 30A Black Bottom Fed Electric Vehicle Charger
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051
http://w3.usa.siemens.com/powerdist...ricvehicle/versicharge/Pages/versicharge.aspx
Price $999 at home Depot. 30a & 70a models available.
30a model can be dialed down for circuits less than 40 amps. 7.2 to 1.8 kW
Nice holster. Includes 20' charging cable and delay timer.

Legrand/Pass and Seymour
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
http://www.legrand.us/passandseymour/ev-chargers.aspx
Good price at $750. Nice coiled cord if that works for you. Have not seen this cord except on Voltec that is not available for Leaf owners.
Nice holster. This could give Schneider some competition. Cord listed at 24' is longest available but I would question if it was practical to streatch the cord out fully.
This one is just 16 amps similar to Leviton 160. Great alternative if limited main power is available.

Clippercreek
http://www.clippercreek.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=212
Looks portable but instructions indicate permanent mount. Different models for 15amp, 20amp & 25 amp circuits.
$995 on the website, outdoor rated. Cord length not specified.


Probably some others

I use Schnieder virtually every day, works perfect since about Sept 2011.
EVSEUpgrade in use as needed V1 (12 amp) modified about Oct 2011.
Once a week I use Leviton 160, works perfect since June 2012.

There are individual threads on each with more details.
 
Can't say I'd recommend the Blink, even though I got mine free; the unit fails to charge an need to be rebooted every six weeks or so, and it notoriously bad at connecting to the wireless network (something that's required when you get them free).
 
Don't forget the EV Charge America EVSE! Great product, fast shipping, reliable and easy to use. They take credit cards so you can charge back when your unit never arrives. Hurry there is a wait list!
 
jkirkebo said:
I'd add in the Clipper Creek LCS-25 at $995. It's 20A, so a bit more powerful than the 16A ones. Requires a 25A breaker.
No EVSE is "more powerful" than 16a when it comes to the Leaf. I don't see the point in a 20a unit. Either use the upgraded Nissan unit at 16a or get a permanent unit on a 40a line so you're "future-proofed" for charging MY2013+ Leafs or other EVs at 6.6kw. Or get the SPX for the best of both worlds, and for much less than Clipper Creek.
 
smkettner said:
Upgrade the OEM unit for about $275.

GE Wattstation
http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/Dis...pnlid=8&famid=9404&catid=6061&id=WS-WallMount
Should be available soon at Lowes.com. Rumour is a couple stores have a few on display. Price $800????
Available in different colors. Seems bulky large and more profile at 6" deep.
Requires 40 amp circuit, has a nice holster. Outdoor rated. Cord is just 16'
Has an OFF mode to draw zero power when not in use.

The Wattstation is $999 at Lowe's. It's still not available at lowes.com even though promised to be there some time this month. They have about a week left to deliver. I use the on/off button all the time but, doh, you have to remember to turn it on when you plug in! Bought mine at the Burbank, CA, Lowe's on the first day it was available but apparently their inventory has been hit or miss since. It may be a large and bulky unit but is also the most attractive design of all the EVSE's imho. There are two models, hardwired and plugin. Ventura County only allows hardwired installation so we had to remove the plug from our plug in unit.
 
This helps tremendously. Seems to me that one of the key decisions is whether to get something capable of 30+amps to take advantage of potential improved onboard charger in the future, or stick with something less than 20amps for current model. Does anyone see the potential of a charger upgrade that could take advantage of 30-40 amps 240v?
 
Scowbay said:
This helps tremendously. Seems to me that one of the key decisions is whether to get something capable of 30+amps to take advantage of potential improved onboard charger in the future, or stick with something less than 20amps for current model. Does anyone see the potential of a charger upgrade that could take advantage of 30-40 amps 240v?
It is my opinion that the 20 amp circuit (16a charging) will work fine for home use especially when charging overnight. Daytime charging to run errands during the day would be mostly adequate but there would probably be a periodic exception where you want a faster charge. I am on L1 driving average 50 miles a day and there have only been a few times in four months when I could not run that last errand due to L1 vs L2.

If you had a 150 mile range car and needed to run 125 miles in the morning and again in the afternoon then you absolutely will want 40+ amp circuit.

You can get close to 100 miles charged in the super off peak window from 12a to 6a.

Vehicles that charge faster will do much better at opportunity charging when on the road. Commercial charging seems to be 40 amp minimum(32a charging). Current Leaf is limited to 16a.

If you have 200 amp main panel at home you may as well put in 40a evse. Some have 100 to 160 amp panels and the electrician recommends an upgrade at additional cost. If this was the case I would go with 20a to avoid the main panel replacement.

I do not expect there to be any retrofit to put a larger charger into the existing Leaf.
 
smkettner said:
Vehicles that charge faster will do much better at opportunity charging when on the road. Commercial charging seems to be 40 amp minimum(32a charging). Current Leaf is limited to 16a.

The answer there is CHAdeMO... We just need the chargers to get installed where we need them.
 
fooljoe said:
jkirkebo said:
I'd add in the Clipper Creek LCS-25 at $995. It's 20A, so a bit more powerful than the 16A ones. Requires a 25A breaker.
No EVSE is "more powerful" than 16a when it comes to the Leaf. I don't see the point in a 20a unit. Either use the upgraded Nissan unit at 16a or get a permanent unit on a 40a line so you're "future-proofed" for charging MY2013+ Leafs or other EVs at 6.6kw. Or get the SPX for the best of both worlds, and for much less than Clipper Creek.

The LCS-25 is nice if you can't spare 40/30 amps, like me. That would overload one phase of my service since it it is 3x63A. 20A will let me charge a future Leaf or Model S at 4.6kW.

I would suspect some US citzens with 100A service to also have problems with a 30/40A unit.

I do plan to upgrade my stock Nissan unit to 16A (10A standard over here) but have no wish to pack and unpack it all the time, hence a permanent EVSE.
 
Scowbay said:
This helps tremendously. Seems to me that one of the key decisions is whether to get something capable of 30+amps to take advantage of potential improved onboard charger in the future, or stick with something less than 20amps for current model. Does anyone see the potential of a charger upgrade that could take advantage of 30-40 amps 240v?
As smkettner said, I doubt there will be any upgrade available anytime soon. And for regular home charging it's really unnecessary anyway. There may be some hope in an adapter/charger that can accept a higher-rated J1772 plug for a power source and charge at a faster rate via the QC port, but that would be very costly and bulky at this point.

Also, to be clear on the "30-40 amps" question, the "conventional" wall units are all capable of charging at 32 amps, but require a circuit rated at 40 amps for 25% margin. Similarly, the upgraded Nissan or appropriately-set SPX charge at 16a and require a 20a circuit, and the stock or upgraded Nissan unit charges at 12a on a 15a (120v) circuit. Note 25% margin in each case.

Which route you take will probably be dictated by what you have available in your home. If you already have a 20a or 30a outlet available in your garage then it would be very cheap and easy to just get the EVSEupgrade for the Nissan unit and be done with it, but if you have to (or want to) run a new line anyway then you might as well make it a 40a line, since the additional cost of larger wire and breaker is peanuts compared to the cost of your electrician's labor. Of course, if a 40a line means you need to upgrade your panel, that's another story...

Personally, I had my Nissan unit upgraded and I plug it in with a simple adapter to an old-style 30a dryer outlet in my garage, which was unused as I have a gas dryer. I also ordered a second Nissan unit to carry in the car and had it upgraded as well. Although with the cheap wall units showing up on ebay recently I might have gone that route instead of getting the second Nissan unit. FYI, if you search for "nissan leaf charger" on ebay there are currently both an AV and a Blink unit up from reputable sellers with bids <$500.
 
CJF said:
Scowbay said:
Is anybody willing to create a summary of EVSE solutions on the market with some brief summary of pros and cons of each? . . . . . . . . . . . . snip
Or you can just look at what has already been done at:
http://www.pluginrecharge.com/p/evse-vendors.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's a reasonable place to start the search and then look at the many comments on this forum.
VERY nice find !!
I'd suggest it be made into a stickie ... but with 50,000 stickies already - it's gett'n kinda ridiculous.
:cool:
mwalsh said:
Scowbay said:
It's not clear how to purchase AV directly without their install
You call them up and say "I'd like to buy an EVSE on a cash-and-carry basis". Easy peasey.
Easy peasey?
:?

:lol:

.
 
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